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Post by audiobill on Jul 6, 2014 5:22:24 GMT -5
I'm in the camp of believing there are things we can hear beyond power and distortion that aren't being measured by conventional means that explain amp differences.
For some, it's enough to know that a spectrum analyzer likes a component, for others its that AND listening.
Very early in this hobby, I used to chase down .0000000000001% distortion components, not so much now.
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Post by boomzilla on Jul 6, 2014 8:23:30 GMT -5
I recommend solid-state power and a tube preamp. I've found that tube power amps are a maintenance nightmare (not all of them, but many). I've found that tube preamps rarely give problems. Others will likely have different opinions, but this is mine based on having owned at least a dozen tube preamps and a similar number of tube power amps.
Now, that said, I have encountered certain combinations where a tube power amplifier mated with the speaker in a way that no solid state amp I tried would. This specific (and unique) case was a pair of Klipsch La Scala speakers with VTL Compact 100 tube mono-block amplifiers. The La Scalas DID sound just fine with several solid-state amps that I tried, but just didn't amaze without the VTLs.
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Post by jedinite24 on Jul 6, 2014 23:23:20 GMT -5
My preference is for using a solid state preamp with a tube amplification. My experience has been with budget tube preamps and they were always noisy or they over emphasized the mid range and treble to the point where there was no bass. When I've gone the solid state preamp route no issues. That and the ss preamps I have experience with could be controlled via remote.
I once paired an Emotiva USP-1 with a Baldwin organ amp that used a quad 6L6GB power tubes. It was modified for stereo use and the combination of the USP-1 was wonderful to me.
My uncle though swears by his Audio Research preamp/Threshold Amp combo for his Maggies though. To each is their own I guess.
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Post by ocezam on Jul 8, 2014 23:43:19 GMT -5
Unless you need all the inputs, phono stage or bass management skip the preamp and go directly from a dac with volume control (like the dc-1) to power amps. Agreed. XDA-2 to my amps, awesome. I'm in the camp of believing there are things we can hear beyond power and distortion that aren't being measured by conventional means that explain amp differences. Very early in this hobby, I used to chase down .0000000000001% distortion components, not so much now. Hate to keep agreeing with you but, yes, specs are nice to read, but listening is all the difference. 30 years ago, if Julian Hirsch told me his measuring equipment said a piece of gear was good that was about all I needed. These days, not so much. |
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Post by ocezam on Jul 8, 2014 23:49:13 GMT -5
I've found that tube power amps are a maintenance nightmare (not all of them, but many). Have you owned any modern power amps? I'm not understanding, quality tubes with quality transformers, where's the nightmare? My preference is for using a solid state preamp with a tube amplification. This is my preference too. To each is their own I guess. Yes, it all really boils down to this.... Peace |
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